Engine operating time hour meters are frequently used in power equipment. Power equipment includes, but is not limited to, riding lawn mowers, lawn and agricultural tractors, snowmobiles, snowblowers, jet skis, boats, all terrain vehicles, bulldozers, generators, and the like. Hour meters among other things, let the owner and/or manufacturer of the power equipment monitor how long the engine has been operated, when the equipment is due for repair/maintenance service, and whether the equipment is still under warranty. The hour meter and/or controller typically communicate to a digital or an analog gauge affixed to a dash or operator's panel of the power equipment.
Further discussion relating to conventional hour meters and their different constructions can be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,377,168; 6,609,357; 7,034,674; and 7,154,814 that were assigned to the assignee of the present disclosure. The above U.S. Patents are incorporated herein in their entireties by reference.